Oh, No! Blew it Again. I’ll Just Start my Diet on Monday
It’s easy to lose sight of our goals, “Do I eat one of these delicious looking, fruit engorged, sugar coated lovelies or … that other plan. What was it again? Oh, yeah, something about losing weight. Well, it’s just one little Danish.” Then with a hint of white sugary powder lingering on your lips you snap awake, “What have I done! Now I’ve blown it. Might as well eat everything now. I’ll start my diet next Monday.”
It’s the common all-or-nothing trap, thinking one lapse will cause the fall of civilization. Enjoying an indulgence does not mean you’ve lost your chance at reaching your goals.
Thinking that one overeating episode ruins the day gives an easy excuse to overeat all day. Better to understand that every meal stands alone. You can overeat at lunch and be back on track for dinner. Take time to think about what you want and whether what you are doing is supporting you in your efforts to get what you want. You’re not going to be 100% perfect, no one is, which is why asking, “Does this support me in reaching my goals,” helps get you back on track.
Decide Today What Steps You’ll Take Today
Stop keeping score. If you over ate yesterday you can’t pay for it by under eating today. That sets you up for feeling deprived and deprivation is the surest way back to constant indulgence known to man. Try instead responsible indulgence (TM). Eat well, eat happy, and indulge yourself now and then, rather than indulging regularly and occasionally eating well.
Every morning think about what you’d like for that day, such as eating healthier foods. Do you have those foods available? Can you get them? Maybe you’d like to make time for exercise. Can that be arranged? If so, arrange it. Write what you want down so you have a handy reminder. Later when you think you want one of those cookies in the lunch room, pull out your note and ask first, “Is eating a cookie right now going to help in my goal to lose five pounds?”
If you really want a cookie but you’re not hungry now, take a cookie and save it for later. If it’s an ordinary cookie you could have any day, take a pass. It’s not worth it. When the opportunity to eat something special comes along, go ahead and enjoy it. Sometimes a treat is just what you need and it supports your goals. Life is about balance and enjoying the delicious things in life is as important for good health as reducing stress and getting enough sleep.
Make One Small Effort Every Day to Reach Your Goals
Throughout the day continuously ask, “Is what I am doing right now helping me reach my goals? Is this supporting me in my efforts to lose the weight I want to lose.”
Try this approach by thinking about what you are doing, at first do it once an hour for one entire day to jump start your weight loss efforts. Later once a day is probably enough. Use a reminder program, kitchen timer or my favorite the MotivAider (I love this gadget and have a review in my Tools section on my website, OneMoreBite.com). When your reminder plays, just ask, “Is what I’m doing right now supporting me in my goal to …” If it is, great! If not as soon as you realize you’ve become distracted, just get right back on track.
Ask yourself right now, “Is reading this helping me in reaching my goals?” I’d like to think so.
~~ Kathryn Martyn Smith, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, Weight Loss Mentor and owner of OneMoreBite-WeightLoss.com is the author of “Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss,” and “5 Steps to Blast Through Weight Loss Plateaus.”
Get both E-books (no cost) and learn to use the One More Bite method with The Daily Bites: EFT for weight loss http://www.OneMoreBite-WeightLoss.com/getnews.html
